Light in the Dark
by experimentwithwords
Summary: It's the summer before Harry Potter's 6th year at Hogwarts. Voldemort is rising. Dumbledore calls on an unknown ally to help the Order with a mission. In order to do so, she is tasked to work closely with the mysterious Severus Snape. The two become close as the year progresses, but not all is as it seems. Darkness is spreading quickly. Will the Light succeed? Or will the Dark win?
1. Prologue

Prologue

The moon was almost full in the sky this particular evening. Blocking it, however, were thick black clouds. The atmosphere on the usually cheery street was grim. Unbeknownst to the inhabitants of the neighborhood, an argument was brewing at number 12 Grimauld. Although, this was quite normal for the people who were currently bickering in the invisible house. The evening was already dark and the argument inside seemed to heavily influence it.

"I am telling you, Albus, unless we give them something of worth to them, they will completely side with You-know-who. There is no in-between! And what's worse is what we need is completely impossible to obtain. They know who we are, it would be a suicide mission!"

"Yes, yes, yes, we all know that, Diggle. We're trying to solve the problem not bloody repeat it 'till we're all beaten over the head with it," Moody barked.

"Well, I'm just saying-"

"Wasting our time is more like it," intoned Mundungus.

Another member scoffed, "Unless you have something intelligent to add, Fletcher, perhaps you should keep quiet?"

"See 'ere," Mundungus began.

A heavy sigh was interrupted the noise. Everyone turned to look at their leader. Albus Dumbledore sat at the head of the table looking entirely weary and disappointed all at once. He stood up and addressed the room.

"The very serious fact of the matter is that things are quickly becoming very dangerous. Only yesterday were the attacks on the muggle world during daytime. Voldemort is gaining more power as fear spreads. Now is not the time for all of us to fighting amongst ourselves. People, magic and muggle alike, are being killed and we must continue to remain united."

Everyone in the room was properly chastised. Silence reigned once more as they all internally tried to find a solution to the ever mounting problems.

Bill Weasley finally spoke up, "So what are we going to do?"

Dumbledore smiled faintly, a bit of the usual twinkle returning to his eyes.

"We cannot retaliate directly to all of these attacks because of the advantage Voldemort has in number. However, I have a solution to the issue concerning obtaining certain materials that will help us." He paused and briefly smiled again. "I have asked someone I know quite well to come and help us and she has graciously accepted."

"But Dumbledore they know our connections!"

"We've been working on this for months now, how is that possible?"

"How can we trust an outsider?"

Dumbledore raised his hand and waited for everyone to settle once more.

"This is a personal connection of mine. I can assure you that she is unknown to our enemy and is an ideal choice for this mission. I realize we have been working on a solution for some time now and I admit that this decision was a last resort. But you have my absolute confidence when I say that the woman who will be joining us is as trust worthy as every single one of you sitting at this table." He looked at each member as he said the next part, "I expect her to be welcomed. If I am correct, she should be here shortly."

As soon as he finished saying this a loud crashing noise was heard out in the hallway. Dumbledore's eyes crinkled as he smiled his usual all-knowing smile. "That must be her now."

Light footsteps approached the kitchen door. They paused briefly before the door was timidly pushed open. A woman, appearing to be no older than 22, now stood in the threshold. Her hair was wet and plastered to the sides of her face. Her clothes, skinny jeans and a fabric jacket were soaked through from rain. Her feet were covered only by soggy socks. She froze momentarily, eyes wide, as she took in each person occupying the room. A moment or two passed before seemed to gather herself.

"Sorry I'm late." Her accented voice was sweet and carried throughout the now quiet room. "My portkey got rerouted and I ended up in Japan."

Everyone was staring when Tonks stood up suddenly, succeeding in knocking over her chair, and threw herself at the stranger.

"Evie!"

AN: Hey guys! Thank-you for checking out my story! I've been on this site reading stories for a while now and figured I would join in and write a story too. My reasoning is that there is not nearly enough Snape/OC in the world and that's unacceptable…because Snape is the best and I feel like sometimes the Snape/Hermione pairing can be weird.

Just a warning, some of my story is going to be a bit AU (I mean I'm adding at least one new character). I'm not one of those people that practically copy the story word for word and just add an extra character. That being said I am going to try to follow the gist of J.K. Rowling's plotline and backgrounds but some of it will be a bit different.

I am not going to be describing my characters physical features in detail. One of the things I love about reading is that it takes you to a whole other place and you're able to picture so much in your own imagination. I want all of you to be able to picture her the way you do without influence. One thing that annoys me is that a lot of OC's seem to blonde, tall, tan, white, and have a perfect body. And there is nothing wrong with people who look like that. But I want to stress that heroines come in all different hair colors, heights, races, and sizes. There is no "perfect woman" out there and my character is certainly going to have her strengths and her flaws. That's what makes a heroine. It's not her looks that save her, it's the fact that she's able to be brave in the presence of fear and overcome whatever problem she's facing, in spite of her flaws and weaknesses.

This prologue is sort of a tester. I write in big spurts and then when editing I start changing everything. It's a bad habit that stems from me changing my mind too much. So to avoid posting and re-posting a bunch I want to have the majority of this written before I share it with you guys. Please let me know what you think!

PS: Please forgive any grammar mistakes! J


	2. Author

Hey guys!

I joined this site to read fanfiction (obviously) and have just recently started writing this story. I had posted the prologue as a teaser while I worked on getting the rest of the story ready.

I am happy to announce that I have my plot and outline finished and I'm ready to start writing chapters and posting them!

Please be patient with me as this is the first time I've written a story this big, I really want to do this well. It might take a bit for me to figure out a good balance of the writing/editing that I need to do. Also, I'm currently only working part-time as well, so I'm hoping that I can get as much as I can of the story worked on and completed before I possibly start a full-time position.

I'm pretty excited about how the story plot and outline turned out so hopefully it'll be worth it for you guys!

Thanks for reading ~J


	3. Chapter 1: Enter as a guest

Chapter 1: Enter as a guest, leave as a friend

The evening of June the 5th was rather unremarkable to the residents of the street Grimmauld Place. Through the open windows parents could be seen tucking children into bed, friends gathered around their televisions, lovers making up after a quarrel. The moon was nearly full, but no one would be able to tell due to the black clouds further darkening the night sky. All seemed to be still.

 _Pop!_ The noise cut through the quietness of the evening.

A woman appeared in the shadow of the houses. She began looking at the houses, searching for one in particular.

"Damn city suburbs. Can never find anything. Everything looks so cookie-cutter," she mumbled. Unlike the residents of the sleepy street, this evening had not been average for her.

Evelyn Turner, a 27 year old American witch, had traveled across the ocean via portkey at the request of one Albus Dumbledore. Of course it couldn't have been a smooth trip, no the portkey had to malfunction and put her in Tokyo instead of London. This error made her 4 hours late for a meeting at 12 Grimmauld Place, the Order of the Phoenix headquarters. She was now trying to navigate her way up the street, for the 3rd time mind you, because who can see anything let alone tiny house numbers and street signs in the dark.

Eve slowly walked back up the street until she came to a small square.

"Number 10, 11, 13, 14 – what the?" She stared intently at the place where number 12 was clearly supposed to be. She stuck her hand in her jacket pockets, "Where's that stupid note? Ah, here."

The headquarters of the Order of the Pheonix may be found at number 12, Grimmauld Place, London

"Number 12, Grimmauld Place, London. Well, that's a lot of help, Dumble-"

As soon as she said the words, a grimy looking house popped into place between numbers 11 and 13. The paint was peeling off the door, showing its age. Eve jumped back as a black wrought iron gate came up through the ground, inches away from where she had been standing.

"Geez, talk about the gates of death," she muttered as she made her way up to the door. She knocked and waited for a few moments but no one came. After several attempts at knocking she tried the doorknob and found it unlocked. She opened the door and poked her head in. A long hallway met her eyes, carpets worn and wallpaper peeling. Old gas lamps on the walls were lit and gave the hallway a gloomy, eerie feel.

Eve quickly stepped in and shut the door. "Hello?" The house was seemingly still as she slowly crept down the hall. "This is seriously reminiscent of the Shining right now," she whispered to herself. Portraits hung haphazardly on the wall, black with age. She heard muffled yelling from the door at the end of the hallway and she walked faster down the hall towards them.

As Eve approached the door and voices, she turned to look at some of the old pictures on the walls. Nothing was very discernable but as she turned to look at one with a creepy eye peering out, she tripped and fell face first.

 ** _Crash!_**

Eve winced as the voices that had been getting steadily louder were now completely silent. She stood up and put the offending item, what appeared to be a severed troll's leg, back into position. After she was sure her cheeks were no longer hot with embarrassment, she slowly took the final steps to the door. She breathed deeply, hand on the knob. "I can do this."

She twisted the doorknob before she convinced herself to walk back out the way she came. Door open, the room looked to be a sort of big kitchen/dining room. Around the large table in the center were about 15 to 20 persons, all of them staring directly at her.

Eve took a deep breathe before saying, "Sorry I'm late, my portkey was redirected to Japan."

The words had left her mouth right before a blur with pink hair bowled into Eve, almost making her fall for the second time that evening.

"Evie!"

Recognizing the voice with a laugh she yelled back, "Dora!"

The metamorphmagus known as Tonks pulled out of the hug at arm's length so the girls could look at each other when an amused voice broke in with "Dora?"

Tonks whipped around and fixed the person who had posed the question with a venomous glare and fire colored hair. "Call me Dora, Mundungus Fletcher, and I'll Bat-Boogey your sorry arse in a second flat." The offender wore a horrified expression as Tonks turned back to Eve.

"Dumbledore said we had someone joining us for a mission, I didn't know it was you! Why didn't you owl me you numpty!" She emphasized her point with a punch to Eve's arm.

"I didn't owl you because Dumbledore said it was supposed to be a secret, Nymphie"

The fire colored hair was back. "Don't call me that! Come to think of it you haven't owled me since that nutter you call a friend tried to pull your pants- Ouch! What was that for?!"

Eve had pinched her before hissing in a low voice, "Not here you idiot!" She glanced at the room full of people staring even harder than before as her cheeks turned red.

Tonks seemed to realize her mistake as Dumbledore interrupted the two.

"I am extremely sorry to break up what seems to be a truly heartwarming reunion between friends, but we do have business to attend to." He smiled and motioned at Eve, "If you would be so kind, my dear, to join me here at the head of the table?"

The two friends shared a brief smile before Eve made her way over to the head master. He put his arm on her shoulders as he turned them to the table full of people.

"As I was saying before, we have someone joining us to help with the mission concerning the group of people in France we are trying to recruit." He smiled once more and squeezed Eve's shoulder as he said, "This is Evelyn Turner. She is a witch joining us all the way from America where she is an auror and an active member of a group fighting against Death Eaters."

A wiry looking man with crazy curls two seats down on the right-hand side piped up, "I imagine we'll give you a bit more excitement here than you would get in America, eh?"

Eve was silent for a moment before asking, "Excuse me? What's that supposed to mean?"

The man's smile wavered for a moment before he replied, "Well, you can't have too much trouble, right? The real fight is right here, in England."

"Why, because Voldemort's here?" A few people winced at her use of the name.

Unaware of the hole he was digging himself, curly top continued, "Of course! It's much more dangerous here, what with the Death Eater activities in broad daylight and the ministry on its way to ruin. You-know-who and the trouble he and his lot cause is certainly more prevalent here. It's got to be more violent than anything you could have experienced in America."

"What's your name, curly?"

"Sturgis Podmore."

"Well, Mr. Podmore, you are quite certain of yourself aren't you?" Despite it being a rhetorical question he nodded. Eve internally rolled her eyes before continuing in a too sweet voice with a too sweet smile on her face. "I had absolutely no idea that the fight we've been having with the Death Eaters in America weren't as bad as they are here. I'm certainly going to have to tell that to all of the victims back home. I'll have to let the mother to the 12 year old twin girls who were kidnapped, in broad daylight mind you, and tortured and disfigured beyond recognition because of their background before being left on their front porch for their parents to find know that she shouldn't be bothered because it's not as bad as it is in England. I let the muggleborn women who have survived Dark Revels and the unspeakable things done to them there know they should be happy they aren't in England because I'm sure they would be more miserable than they are now. I'll let the families of the countless muggleborns and half-bloods who have been brutally murdered for existing know to get over their grief because people in England have it worse." She roughly rolled up her left sleeve revealing a gruesome scar on her arm that spelled out the word mudblood and shoved it under his face. "I'll be sure to remind myself that spending a week being tortured for information and dying for 2 minutes really wasn't that horrible compared to England when I have another nightmare about it."

She dropped her smile as she rolled her sleeve back down and leaned over until she and the man were eye to eye.

"Just because you're busy with the goings on of England doesn't mean you should be ignorant to the struggles of others. Because our country is vastly bigger than yours, we have more Death Eaters and more territory to cover. It doesn't mean that what we're going through is more important than what's happening here. Just because Voldemort is located in England does not mean that other people in other countries aren't going through the same hell you all are dealing with here."

By the end of her speech, Podmore was slouching in his seat with a very red face. The room was silent as they regarded Eve, whose young face showed a deep sorrow that aged her.

A throat cleared, "Well, you certainly have quite a bark, Turner." The man who said that was sitting beside Podmore in the chair closer to Eve. He extended his hand to give hers a firm shake. "The names Alastor Moody. According to Tonks and her time working with ya, your bark is much worse." He looked at Podmore and said, "Ya should be glad she didn't lay into ya more'n that. She's got a nasty reputation she does."

"Thank-you, Alastor," Dumbledore interrupted. "We should all remember the danger of the present time we are in. No one takes more priority than anyone else and each life affected or lost is a tragedy." He looked at everyone sitting at the table before smiling his famous smile. "On that note, I believe it's time for dinner. Please make our guest feel welcomed."

Podmore swiftly stood up and exited the room as the other people in the room relaxed and began talking. A short, red-haired woman approached Eve and took Dumbledore's spot.

"Welcome to London, dearie! I'm Molly Weasley and that red-haired man over there is Arthur, my husband. The four boys you see further down the table with red hair are four of my children. The others are upstairs as they're too young for to be in the Order yet. Well, all with the exception of one." Sadness seemed to take over her face for a moment before she gathered herself. "Supper is in a moment, you must be absolutely famished after you trip." She peeled off Eve's jacket and insisted she put it in the closet with the others before walking off to the section that was the kitchen.

Tonks reappeared and gave Eve a knowing smile. "Quite the mothering spirit, Molly is. She'll treat you as if you're one of her own." She tugged Eve down the table. "Come on, I'll introduce you to people." She led her over to the other end of the table, stopping and giving names, until they ended up to a group stood, consisting of the four red-heads Mrs. Weasley pointed out. The four Weasley boys stood with two other men of about mid-30's.

"Guys, this is Evie." The red-head whose hair was longer shook her hand first.

"I'm Bill and this is Charlie. The twins are Fred and George. We apologize in advance for our mum. She can be a bit, erm, too mothering sometimes." Charlie grinned as Bill was speaking and shook Eve's hand as well.

"You've been here not five minutes and you've already put Podmore in his place. You'll do well here."

Eve grinned along while the others chuckled. "He reminds me of someone I know in the US so I have experience in that area." She chuckled before looking at Bill and saying, "As for your mom, she seems really sweet."

"Just wait until she's waking you up early in the morning and giving you cleaning instructions. Doesn't matter how old you are, you're never too old for Molly Weasley to give you a proper tongue lashing," a man who with shoulder length hair and a gaunt face said. He shook her hand and introduced himself. "Sirius Black. I have to apologize as well for the state of this old place. It's pretty rubbish but it does its job as headquarters."

"This is your house, then?" Eve asked.

He nodded, "It was my family's house. Been passed on for centuries. We've got a bedroom cleared out for you but just be careful you don't go into any marked rooms. The Black family didn't favor muggles or muggle borns and I would hate for you to run into any of the nasty curses. We're all working on getting this place cleared up and safe."

"Good to know. You might want to warn people about the gate too. I was almost made a human shish kabob when it came up through the ground."

At that moment Dumbledore appeared at Eve's side.

"I hate to interrupt introductions but if you wouldn't mind following me, Miss Turner and Remus, I have some business to discuss with the both of you before the supper Molly has prepared."

Eve and the man who she now knew was named Remus followed Dumbledore out of the kitchen and into a small study off of the hallway. Waiting with his back turned towards them, was a man Eve had seen briefly when she first opened the door to the kitchen. He had shoulder length jet black hair and when he turned around Eve was drawn towards his equally dark eyes that were assessing her. He wasn't the most handsome man with a nose that was a bit large for his face, but there was something mysterious and off limits about him that intrigued Eve. He seemed to be done his silent assessment of her as he looked at Dumbledore with a bored expression on his face.

"Let's make this quick, Headmaster, as I have other responsibilities to see to this evening and we are already running behind." His silky voice contained some disdain towards herself as he finished his sentence. Clearly, he was not happy that he had been delayed because of Eve.

Dumbledore, however, just smiled at the man. "Surely you can spare us a few more minutes, Severus." He turned to Eve and said, "This is Severus Snape. He is a professor at Hogwarts and is a spy for the Order. He is the one you will be assisting with brewing potions, as we discussed."

Dumbledore had apparently not discussed this with Severus Snape because the man who had been gazing at the clock whipped his head around to all but glare at the old man.

"I don't need help brewing potions, Headmaster," he insisted with force. "I am very capable myself, which I believe I have already proven as I have been the potions professor for 15 years. I have never been unable to do either of my jobs for the Order." He looked Eve over once more before adding with disdain clear in his voice, "And I certainly don't see how some child who likely is an amateur potions assistant is going to be able to meet the high standards you know I have."

Eve smiled sarcastically, "I'm 27 thank-you and I'm not an amateur and I'm definitely not someone's assistant."

Dumbledore interrupted him by holding up his hand. "I am not questioning your abilities, Severus. I am merely giving you the help you are going to need this year. You will have a very busy summer leading into the school year and I need you to be able to focus on other things without having to worry about brewing potions. I have already made arrangements with Miss Turner and my word on this is final."

The look on Severus Snape's face was definitely not what Eve would consider pleasant and she knew then that things with this man would not be smooth sailing.

Dumbledore turned back to her and continued as if his exchange with the now sullen potions master hadn't happened. "You will be brewing potions with and for Severus here. I expect that the both of you have much that you will be able to exchange." He then motioned to the other man in the room. "This is Remus Lupin, whom you have already briefly met. He is the one who will be needing the Wolfsbane potion."

Remus Lupin now looked tense and uncomfortable. To ease some of his apparent apprehension, Eve smiled and extended her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Lupin."

"Please just call me Remus," he said quietly. "So you know about my, condition?"

"Dumbledore only told me in advance so I would be able to be prepared. I can assure you that anything we need to discuss regarding your health and the potion is strictly confidential and won't be told to anyone without your express permission."

"Miss Turner works with an organization in America that is a research hospital for magical illnesses," Dumbledore supplied.

"It's an international research foundation that was originally started to find cures and relief for people who suffer from Werewolfism. I understand that you take the potion developed by Damocles in the 70's?" Remus nodded. "I want to preface what I'm about to ask you by saying that you don't have to do anything you don't want to. If you're uncomfortable at any point, please tell me and we'll stick to your routine. That being said, I do work with a research foundation and I work specifically with werewolves. There has been a new Wolfsbane potion created and it's a bit different from Damocles' potion. Instead of taking a goblet every day a week in advance, you only need to take one the evening before the full moon. It relieves all of the same symptoms but is gentler on your body and I've been told that it tastes far better than the original potion. Is that something you're interested in trying?"

Remus looked unsure as he asked if she was sure it was safe. Dumbledore answered for Eve, "Remus, this potion has revolutionized the way werewolves are able to live their lives."

"It's entirely up to you if you want to do this treatment. As I said before, if you're uncomfortable, we don't have to change anything from your regular routine. If you want, take some time to think about it." She reached into her bag and shuffled things around a bit before pulling some pamphlets out and handing them to Remus and Snape. "These give you a clear outline of what the potion does and how it works. Just let me know when you decide."

Dumbledore clapped his hands together with a twinkle in his blue eyes. "Well then, that's a good idea. Now, Severus, since you have other things to attend to all that's left for me to say is that I expect you to be back here in a couple days to meet with Miss Turner about the potions that need brewing." Snape nodded curtly before promptly exiting the room. The front door slamming was heard only moments after he left. "Now, let's go eat."

The three made their way back to the kitchen where dinner was in full swing. There were more red-headed teens at the table along with a girl with wild curly hair and a boy with dark messy hair and round glasses. She was sat beside Tonks across from the curly haired girl, Hermione and Ginny Weasley. Harry Potter, the boy with the glasses, sat beside Sirius further down the table and Bill and Charlie sat on either side of Eve and Tonks. The twins, Fred and George, immediately made Eve laugh harder than she had in ages. She found out that Charlie worked with Dragons and Bill worked at Gringotts bank and was engaged to one of his co-workers; a fact that Ginny Weasley seemed to be totally thrilled about, not.

She was asked lots of questions about America and what she did for a living and how she knew Tonks. She and Tonks told the story about how they worked an auror case together, an international kidnapping. By the time dinner had ended, Eve felt as if she had known these people for years instead of hours. She laid in her bed giggling over a prank Fred- no George (or was it Fred) had pulled on his youngest brother, Ron the surliest of the Weasley clan by far. She drifted off to sleep fairly quickly and for once she didn't dream of the horrors she had seen in her past.

AN: The first chapter is done! I have loosely edited but it's midnight here and I'm exhausted so there could still be some mistakes. If there are, my apologies. Eve has met some of the gang and they all seem to be getting along well. Except for Snape of course, because it's not going to be that easy ;) Thanks for reading and I hope that you have enjoyed. Please let me know what you think! ~J


	4. Chapter 2: Let's get down to business

Chapter 2: Let's get down to business

The next morning, Eve woke to the sounds of a busy house. She could hear Mrs. Weasley in the kitchen bustling about, there was a muffled explosion, and almost immediately after the explosion, frantic hushed voices were whisper yelling at the other for a mistake made. She smiled, reminiscing about the peopl left behind in America.

Eve laid in bed for a few more minutes before finally summoning the will to roll herself out of bed. She pulled on some jeans, a green v-neck t-shirt, and fuzzy socks and brushed her teeth before heading down to the kitchen. The house was indeed very old, as Sirius said, and the fact that it had been owned by a family of dark wizards and witches was very obvious to the muggleborn. Snakes seemed to be a big part of the décor and she found herself pressing up against the bannister to avoid brushing up against a plethora of creatures heads mounted to the wall. On the last landing, she paused, looking curiously at two moth-eaten curtains. She started to reach out to pull them back when someone spoke.

"I wouldn't touch those if I were you. That portrait isn't faded like the rest and she likes to yell obscenities at everyone. It takes forever to get her to shut up."

Eve turned around and saw one of the Weasley twins.

"Thanks for the warning. Why doesn't Sirius just take it down if it causes so many problems?"

The red-head grinned, "Because whoever hung that portrait up really didn't want it to come off. Everyone's tried every spell in the book."

"Right piece of work it is," the other twin piped in as he appeared behind his brother.

Eve looked at the two momentarily before asking, "You're Fred," pointing to the first one to appear "And you're George, right?" pointing at the second.

Wearing similar expressions of shock the two looked at each other before grinning down at her once more. "You're the first person to get it on the first go!"

"I think that we'll get on splendidly, wouldn't you say, Fred?"

"Absolutely smashing, George."

The trio walked down the rest of the stairs and into the kitchen, where Molly greeted Eve warmly.

"Good morning, dear! Did you have a pleasant sleep? I hope the children didn't wake you up with their noise?"

"Oh no! I slept great and the noise doesn't bother me."

"Told you she'd be alright, Mum. You didn't have to smack Ron after all," Ginny said from the table.

The twins laughed and George asked, "Mum hit Ron? Why do we miss these moments, Freddie?"

"Dunno Georgie. Mum, could you re-enact it for us?"

The Weasley Matriarch scowled at the two boys while pushing Eve down in a seat in beside Sirius and across from Remus. "You two had better be glad I don't smack you for that noise I heard earlier. You had better not be conducting experiments for your so-called 'business venture'!" She glared at them once more before turning and smiling at Eve. "Breakfast will be ready in a moment, dear, just relax." She walked over to the other side of the room to resume cooking.

Eve blinked and looked at the others. "Remind me not to piss her off."

Sirius chuckled, "They warned you. Molly is not to be crossed, ever."

"Not if you value your life, anyways," Remus added.

The remaining Weasley kids, Hermione, and Harry nodded solemnly before Hermione offered Eve some tea.

"I'm not really one for tea, thanks. Not unless it's iced. Is there any coffee?"

She was met with horrified looks from all over the table.

"You don't like tea?"

"How do you survive?"

"What do you mean 'iced' tea? Does it come frozen?"

She laughed, "Tea isn't as big as in America as it apparently is here. Plus, a lot of times, the methods of making it are different, so it tastes different. I survive just fine on coffee, the elixir of life. I don't know how you all survive without that." She smiled and looked at Ron, who had asked if tea came frozen in America. "Iced tea doesn't mean frozen. People will brew tea and cool it before adding ice. It's a staple drink in the south and it's typically sweet."

Ron made a disgusted face. "You Americans are weird."

Eve just laughed as the teens fell into different conversations. She turned to Sirius. "I noticed on my way down the stairs that there are a bunch of heads mounted on the wall. What are they from?"

Both men exchanged a glance before looking back to Eve with confused expressions on their faces. "They're house elves that have served the Black family. It had been a tradition that when the house elf died, their heads were cut off and placed on the wall as an honour for serving the family," Sirius explained, disgust clear in his voice.

"So those are house elves? That's a little, um, disturbing."

"You've never seen a house elf before?" Remus asked.

Eve shook her head. "I'm muggleborn so no house elves for me. So is there one here now? I'm curious as to what the rate of pay here is as opposed to the US." Both men looked stunned at her and Hermione, who had been listening in snapped to attention as Eve quickly back-peddled, "I'm sorry if that's rude to ask! You don't have to tell me if you feel uncomfortable." She let her head hit the table to hide her red cheeks. "Sometimes my mouth runs away before my brain can catch up," she muttered.

"House elves are paid in America?!" Hermione was practically draped over the table eager to hear Eve's answer.

Eve heard Ron whisper, "Bloody Hell not again!"

Eve, surprised, slowly nodded her head. "House elves have been paid for almost a century. Enslaving house elves was abolished the same a bit after enslaving a human being was abolished. There's still some lingering prejudice in some of the older families, but it's illegal to have a house elf work for you and it not get some sort of financial compensation. They receive free room and board in addition to their salary and paid vacation and sick days." All eyes were on her once more.

Hermione looked like she was going to burst. "I've been trying to tell everyone here that it's unethical to have a house elf without paying them but I keep getting told they like it!" It was now Eve's turn to look shocked.

"It was difficult at first because they didn't understand that these benefits weren't given with a price tag. Years of working in the conditions that they did made it hard for them to trust at first but now it's more uncommon to employ a house elf without giving them the same benefits a human would get if they were doing the work." She looked at everyone, face scrunched up, "But house elves don't get that here?"

"It's definitely not for lack of campaigning on Hermione's part. People here are very set on the old ways of doing things, even if they aren't in support of blood prejudice. I've never heard of an elf being treated equally to a human, except for Dobby of course," Sirius explained.

Hermione was in raptures. "I just can't believe it! It's what I've been trying to accomplish since I found out about house elves! You're very certain that it's rare for them to go without pay?" She looked expectantly at Eve.

"I'd say that we have more of a problem with human trafficking than with house elves being enslaved. More and more people, magical or muggle, have been taken and forced into some sort of slavery." A silence settled over the table as Mrs. Weasley put the food on. Everyone ate silently and Mrs. Weasley led all the teens up the stairs to do some cleaning on the upper levels.

Remus took a nervous gulp of his tea before pulling the pamphlets Eve had given him out of his jacket pocket. "I've looked over the materials that you've given me and there's seemingly no reason why I shouldn't go ahead and try it. It appears very promising."

"But?"

"But it seems to perfect to be true. I don't mean this in an impolite way, but many people have tried to improve this potion with disastrous results for the brewer and the recipient. How is this any better than the previous attempts?"

"My thoughts on the matter precisely, Lupin. It seems that, for once, we agree."

The three turned to see Severus Snape standing in the door way. He walked swiftly to the other side of the table to sit down and pick up the pamphlets. While scanning them, he poured himself a cup of tea. Like Remus, he took a drink before speaking, only his sip was a bit more condescending. If sips can be condescending.

"The fact of the matter is, Miss Turner is it? Is that this hospital of yours is a research foundation. That means that all of this work is experimental and extremely dangerous. This potion must be very new as I have researched as much as I can about it but there are only few mentions of it. So you must see why he is apprehensive. Not much is known and experimental work is always questionable." He gave her a look that was both bored and smug simultaneously. "Besides, aconite is an expensive and unbalanced ingredient. The only way to safely use it is in the manner Damocles originally discovered." He smiled tightly, as if he had put the final nail in the coffin.

"While it's true that research foundations can produce some potentially harmful experiments, this one is world renown and has been around long enough for Damocles himself to be a part of it." She conjured a steaming cup of coffee. "As for the concern over the newness of the potion itself, it was developed 11 years ago and the inventor personally brews it for the President of the Wizarding community in America."

Three sets of eyebrows all rose at the same time. Sirius asked, "The President is a werewolf in America?"

"Yeah. Werewolves all occupy normal jobs. It's not their fault they transform once every month."

"Well how about that, Moony? You could have been president in America!" Remus rolled his eyes at his friend's antics.

"This potion has been around for 11 years? Why hasn't Severus been able to find any information on it? And why does no one use it here?"

"As you probably know, people with werewolf-ism are treated with prejudice. Might as well be someone of 'lesser' blood. It's a bit more widely accepted in America, but there's still a rather large group of people who go out of their way to spread their hate. The potion is only known to the people who take it and 3 others, the director of the research organization, Dumbledore, and myself. It's kept a secret because when the brewer first presented the paper to show the research, there was an attempt on their life. The director became involved and the potion was presumed a failure." She took a sip from her coffee. "As for your last question, prejudice is, again, the answer. People are so against and ignorant about people with werewolf-ism that they have prevented our foundation from operating here because of it. We're present on 4 continents, but we've never been able to set up a location in the UK."

"And just why are you in the know, Miss Turner? What's so special about you?"

"Really, Snape? Is that necessary?" Sirius exploded.

"I have the answer to that I believe," Remus interrupted quietly. The three others turned to look at him, surprise evident on all of their faces. He looked at Eve. "You invented this potion, didn't you?"

Snape scoffed, "Don't be so ridiculous, she's barely in her 20's. She would have been a child."

"I'm 27, actually. And yes, Remus, I did. It was my thesis experiment for my apprenticeship mastery." She looked at Snape. "You see, I had read your journal on Wolfsbane and the properties that make up the potion. You had detailed your experiments with aconite and isolating certain properties to eliminate the side effects. It intrigued me. I wanted to take a new angle and I tinkered a bit before I had a break through."

"I don't understand what you could have possibly drawn from that journal. It was all a failure, there's no way to properly separate the aconite without rendering it useless. That was the point of the journal." Snape's forehead was creased as he considered the girl. "You were 16 when you developed this potion?"

Eve nodded. "It's possible to separate the properties when using the right methods."

"I used every method available to me! Nothing worked. As soon as I even attempted to divide it counter to how Damocles' theory specified, it was compromised. There is no possible way!"

"There is a way-"

"It is not magically possible!"

"No, it isn't magically possible. You're right about that."

That made Snape pause. Sirius narrowed his eyes and then felt her forehead with the back of his hand. "You're not making sense now. Are you alright from your trip? Have you got a fever?"

Eve smacked his hand away. "Of course not! I said it wasn't _magically_ possible."

Her statement was met with blank stares. She rolled her eyes. "This is why cures haven't been discovered sooner or at all," Eve mumbled. She took a final drink from her coffee. "How much do you know about muggle science?"

"Now you're really off your rocker- Ouch woman! You shouldn't be able to punch like that!"

Snape looked dubious as he slowly said, "I have a basic understanding of what the muggles call chemistry. It is a somewhat rudimentary form of Potions."

"Chemistry is the study of a branch of physical science that studies the composition, structure, properties and change of matter."

Sirius looked confused. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. What's the matter with you?" Eve teared up as she giggled to herself. She wiped a tear from her eye as she said, "Classic." It was then she noticed the others were regarding her with varying degrees of amusement and concern for her sanity. "Anywho, I was able to break the aconite down using chemistry, not compromising the aconite. It's all very technical and would take a long time for me to explain it in layman's terms. I have a copy of my thesis journal if you would like to read it?" She directed this last part to Snape.

He nodded. "That still doesn't explain why that worked and magic did not."

"Do you use magic in your classrooms, Professor Snape? You probably assign non-magic detentions when they are held in your classrooms."

"Of course I don't use magic in the classrooms, silly girl. It would affect the ingredients compromising-" he stopped talking.

"Compromising the potion when the ingredients are mixed together. Magic alters the state of the ingredient because even the gentlest spell cause harsh damage. That's why no one has been able to come up with an improvement on Wolfsbane, they try to use magical methods."

"How could you have possibly come to that conclusion at the age of 16 when potions masters much older have been trying and failing to remedy this longer than you've been alive?" Remus questioned.

Eve smiled grimly. "I grew up in the muggle world. I took muggle science as a course growing up and it fascinated me enough when I was older to do more studying for it even though I was attending a magical school. I was raised to view the world differently and therefore I am able to come to different conclusions because of it."

Sirius perked up. "You wouldn't happen to have a muggle potion to get rid of my mother's portrait, would you? I heard the twins telling you about it earlier."

Eve considered his question for a moment. "You could always use Turpentine."

"Turpe-what?"

"Turpentine. It's used to strip paint and varnishes away. It's really strong-"

"As fascinating as this all is, I did not come here to discuss Sirius' harpy of a mother." He looked at Eve, scrutinizing her before adding, "I would like to see a copy of your journal on this potion and if you wouldn't mind giving a demonstration I would be honoured."

Eve didn't see the twin looks of incredulousness from Sirius and Remus as she beamed at Snape. "I would be honored if you would take the time for both! I have to admit, I was pretty excited when Dumbledore mentioned that I would be working with you. I have read a lot of your work in medicinal potions and it's really genius." There were now 3 looks of incredulousness at the table.

Snape took a sip from his tea to hide his uncomfortableness. "Yes well, shall we go to the lab to go over the list of potions I will need you to brew?"

"Of course!" Eve vanished her cup and the two made their way up the stairs. Eve shivered as she passed the house elf heads.

"Are you alright, Miss Turner?"

"Oh yeah. The uh, house elf heads kind of creep me out. And just Eve is fine."

"It must be strange to see them this way, being from America."

Eve paused and looked back at Snape. "How did you know that?"

"Dumbledore has mentioned I am a spy for the Order. Some of my…associates have been to America to visit distant family members. You Americans have strange ways of doing things."

Eve hummed and turned back to continue walking up the stairs. "If you were in servitude, I would imagine that you would want to be treated with consideration."

A quiet "indeed" was his only response. They were silent the rest of the way up to the lab.

Upon entering the designated room, Snape flicked his wand and the old gas lamps in the room flamed to life. There were two workstations complete with tables, several different types of cauldrons, and a small storage space for ingredients. Unlike the majority of the house, this room wasn't in as much disrepair.

"It's not much, but I believe this will be sufficient for you. There is not a lot of storage space and it isn't stocked so I will bring you the necessary ingredients needed."

"Oh would you mind letting me see the list first?"

He looked at her curiously as he retrieved some parchment from his robe pocket.

"You'll be happy to know that you won't need to waste time or resources."

"Is that so?" His silky voice was dubious once more. He watched, bewildered and she went out the door to stand in the hallway.

"Accio backpack." Moments later a black blur came around the corner and rested in her outstretched hand. She came back into the room and set the backpack on one of the tables. She unzipped the largest pocket and reached her arm all the way up to her shoulder into the bag. "Gotta be in here somewhere," she grunted. "Ha!" She then proceeded to pull out jar after jar of all sorts of potions ingredients. She slid them on the table to Snape, who would put them on the shelves.

"That should be that." Then she reached back in and pulled out what seemed to be a bookshelf that would fit in a doll's house. She went over to an open space on the wall, set it down, and waved her wand. The small book shelf immediately grew into a rather large bookshelf that took up nearly the entire wall. "There," she said, "all done."

"I am rather impressed that you came with all of these supplies. Many would expect they would be given to them."

"You can never be too careful. I always carry something with me in case of an emergency. A habit I picked up from being on the move so much these last 4 years."

She went back over to the backpack she had summoned and reached in a smaller pocket to pull out a muggle composition notebook that seemed to be old, but in overall good condition. She handed it over to Snape. "This is my thesis on Wolfsbane. It's the only copy there is so please be careful when reading." At the raised eyebrow she received, she quickly added, "But I'm sure you're very meticulous in everything that you do."

"Thank-you for allowing me to review this." He said the sentence with some lingering reluctance.

She smiled at him briefly before sobering. "I know that you probably aren't thrilled with me being here and taking over your job. Believe me when I say the last thing I want to do here is make anyone feel uncomfortable or usurped. If it would make you more at ease I could brew something on the list with you right now? If you have time, that is."

He looked up from perusing the notebook and contemplated her blank faced. Eve was in awe and frustration at his uncanny ability to hide any emotion from his face. She wondered what he thought of her.

"That would be, acceptable to me," He drawled in his deep and smooth voice. "Shall we do the Pepper Up then?"

Eve beamed and nodded while heading to her workstation to get started.

The next hours passed with surprising speed and ease. Snape slowly began to relax in Eve's presence, although Eve noted that he was still pretty tense. She did her best to engage with him in a way that was warm, but not overwhelming. She asked him questions about Hogwarts and his opinions of the returning students' skill. He seemed genuinely surprised when she laughed at his sarcasm most usually took as insults. She was soon finished the potion and he expressed how impressed he was once more with her work quality.

"I must say, Miss Turner, I am not usually so open with compliments. I expect a high quality work ethic and I have not been able to find fault with you. Yet. Let us hope that you do not fall from this high place any time soon. It will be nice to have a conversation with someone of intelligence around here."

Eve laughed once more. "Well I appreciate it! And please just call me Eve. I typically get called Miss Turner when someone I know is displeased with me."

He nodded once. Before either of them could carry on with their conversation, a knock at the door interrupted. Eve immediately noticed a change in Snape's continence when Sirius walked through the door.

"Molly sent me up to announce that supper will be on the table in a bit." He glanced around the room. "I see you've added your own touch, Snape." Snape drew himself up to his full height and was about to retort but Eve beat him to it.

"Actually what you're seeing is all mine. It makes me feel a bit more at ease to have my own things were I'm going to be brewing, you know?"

Sirius verbally affirmed that he did but Eve could tell he didn't really understand at all.

"You may tell Molly that I will, regrettably, not be joining everyone else for supper," Snape said.

"Oh are you sure?" Eve said. "I'd really love to discuss some more of the application theories with you."

Snape was curt and stiff as he informed her he had other appointments for the evening.

"Alright. Well thanks for stopping by. I really did enjoy our discussions. When do you think you'll be by to pick up the potions?"

"I will send an owl informing you when I will be by next." He started to make his way to the door and past Sirius.

"Have a good evening," Eve called to his back. He stopped and stiffened before looking back at her straight in the eyes.

"The same to you." He swiftly turned around and exited the room. His footsteps faded as they made their way down the stairs and the faint sound of the door closing reached Eve's ears.

Eve jumped when Sirius clapped his hands. "Well, let's be heading down stairs then. Molly's made some of her famous stew and trust me when I say that it goes fast."

They walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. Eve was greeted by the Weasley clan, Hermione, Harry, Remus and Tonks, who had made an appearance when she had been upstairs.

"Sirius was able to rescue you then," Ron said as she took a seat at the table.

"Rescue me? Why did I need rescuing?" The teens all shared looks of horror.

"It's Snape that you were with, wasn't it? Weren't you positively dying to be rescued?"

He yelped when Hermione dug her elbow into his ribs. "It's Professor Snape, Ronald." She turned to Eve. "Don't mind him, he just doesn't like Professor Snape because he called Ron a dunderhead once."

Eve laughed. "I actually thoroughly enjoyed hanging out with Professor Snape. He may be a bit rough around the edges but he's dead genius! I haven't been able to have that level of conversation in ages!"

"I can't believe you get on with Snivellus! The man is a git with the charm of a snail," Sirius exclaimed. Ron, Harry and a few of the others quickly voiced their agreement.

Eve looked around stunned. "How can you say that? That's absolutely horrible! That man is brilliant and anyone who says otherwise is kidding themselves. Who cares if he's a bit grumpy, you would be too if you had to spy on Death Eaters."

Molly entered with an enormous pot the magically set itself on the table. "That's enough of that talk, you lot. Dinner's ready and I will not have you ruin it with your bickering." She picked up a bowl, filled it, and placed it in front of Eve. "Here you are dear, you've had a long day."

The conversations changed and soon Tonks had everyone practically rolling with a story of when she was in America. Eve once again laid in bed in the evening, completely content. Her sleep was dream free.

AN: Please excuse any grammar errors. ~J


	5. Chapter 3: Hit me with your Best Shot

Chapter 3: Hit me with your best shot

The rest of June passed with relative quickness. Eve found a balance between getting to know everyone and working on potions for Snape. Despite how well that first afternoon of brewing had gone, Snape had pulled back once more. He communicated solely by Owl and had others bring the finished potions to where they needed to be. Eve wasn't completely sure, but she had a feeling that she pushed too much, too fast, causing the dark-haired professor to be overwhelmed.

The Weasley family, Tonks, Remus, and Sirius were all at the table when Eve came down for breakfast. She took her usual seat by Tonks which was directly across from Remus and Sirius. Normally she'd go about her business of eating and drinking coffee, but she noticed that she was receiving confused looks.

"What're you all looking at?"

Sirius tilted his head. "Why do you have white stars on your shorts? And why are you wearing a scarf? It's not cold out."

Eve laughed. "It's 4th of July!" She pointed at her shorts, "I've got on blue jean shorts with white stars, a white shirt, and I'm wearing a _light_ scarf," she gave a pointed look to Sirius, "that has red stripes on it. Red, white and blue. Like the American flag! It's subtle."

Ron snorted. "There's nothing subtle about white stars on your trousers."

Eve raised her eyebrow as she spoke. "Did you pick up on what I'm dressed like?" Ron shook his head. "Then only open your mouth to put food in, ginger."

She smirked and the other three adults chuckled as the youngest Weasley boy's face turned scarlet and joined the others teens in exiting the room to complete chores.

"Your quite lovely in the morning aren't you, sunshine?"

"I haven't had my coffee yet, Nymphadora."

"Don't call me that!" The metamorphmagus elbowed the other girl in the side. Eve elbowed her back.

"Don't call me sunshine!"

"Here, have your coffee before you take someone's head off." Remus pushed a mug in front of Eve. She brought the cup up to her nose and breathed deeply before taking a big gulp.

"Yum. Much better." She closed her eyes and sighed in content.

"The beast has been appeased," Sirius snickered.

Eve's eyes snapped open and she glared at him from across the table.

"Watch it, Black, there's still time for me to take _your_ head off."

"As entertaining as it would be to see Black finally be put in his proper place, you and I have work to attend to, Miss Turner."

Eve turned to see Severus Snape in the doorway, dressed in all black and face as stoic as ever. Tonks stood up.

"Speaking of work I should probably get a move on." She looked at Eve. "Just don't do what you did last 4th of July, ok? I don't think that would be a good idea here." She turned and walked past Snape to exit the front door (but not without tripping over the troll foot).

Sirius was once again tilting his head. "What did you do last time that wouldn't be good to do here?"

Eve sighed. "Nothing that I'm going to tell you. It might give you ideas." She began to put eggs, toast, bacon, and other breakfast items onto her plate. She paused when someone cleared their throat behind her.

"I believe I told you, Miss Turner, we have work to do. You can have this discussion at another time."

Eve snorted. "Trust me, I would rather not continue that conversation with this troublemaker ever." She was interrupted by a very indignant scoff. "However, I haven't eaten breakfast yet and unless I have some kind of food my stomach will revolt."

Snape looked like he was about to speak up in protest but she leveled him with a glare that rivaled his own. Partially taken aback, he sat at the end of the table and waited as she began to eat her meal. The room was silent, save for the sound of silverware on the plate and the sips of beverages. Sirius finally broke the silence.

"You know, you never finished telling me about that muggle potion, Turpy-something."

Eve started to laugh but chocked on a bite she had been swallowing. She gratefully accepted the second cup of coffee Remus handed her. "Turpy-something?"

"Yeah! The muggle potion that's going to remove my mother's portrait?"

She laughed again. "Turpentine?"

Sirius clapped his hands together once. "That's it!"

She thought for a second as she took another bite of food. "I'm not actually sure it's going to work. It's typically used to strip paint and varnish off of items, but I'm not really sure how well it would do with magical paint. Especially if the painting is charmed with dark magic like you say it is."

"I am begging you, anything at this point is worth a go." He did his best impression of a sad dog.

"Are you trying to give me puppy dog eyes right now?"

"Is it working?" Eve rolled her eyes and got up from the table to put her dishes in the sink. She grabbed her jacket from the coat rack and started to walk out of the kitchen.

"Erm, Eve?" She stopped and turned around. The three men were all looking at her with confused looks on their faces (Snape's was due to her attire). "Where are you going?"

Eve rolled her eyes again. "Did you want to get rid of that portrait?" Sirius nodded eagerly. "Then I have to go out and get the Turpentine." She paused and narrowed her eyes. "You didn't actually think I had some with me, did you?"

Sirius shook his head. "No, don't be ridiculous. Don't you just make it? Like a potion?"

Eve shook her head and continued to walk out of the house. All three men could hear what sounded like "freaking Purebloods" before they heard the slam of the front door.

"I guess that's a no – Ouch, Moony! Uncalled for!" Sirius rubbed the back of his head while Snape sighed and internally resigned himself to more time with people he considered unpleasant.

Eve groaned in relief as she caught sight of the front steps only she could see. She walked into the front door and walked up to the first landing where the ominous curtains hung. She placed the bag down and walked back down to the kitchen to poke her head in. All three men were in the exact same place as when she left, looking uncomfortable in varying degrees.

"Well? Are you just going to sit there or are you going to come check it out?"

The three men all stood from the table, Sirius practically bounding towards the stairs. Eve opened the bag and began to prepare everything. She pulled out a can, a brush, and a pair of thick rubber gloves. She turned to look up at her audience.

"Now, it's very important that you listen to my instructions. While this isn't the most dangerous chemical, it can still be very harmful." She gave Sirius a pointed look before continuing. "There are several different forms of Turpentine and this" Eve held up the can, "is the strongest kind. It's made from the resin of gum sap from a tree." Eve proceeded to open the lid and stirred the liquid with wooden rod. Once she was done stirring she set the stick in the plastic bag and picked up one of the brushes. Just as she turned she noticed Sirius had edged forward and was reaching out to touch the liquid in the can.

"SIRUIS BLACK! What did I just tell you?!"

He started back and bumped into Snape. Righting himself, he had the decency to look sheepish. "To listen to you."

"And did I tell you to touch the turpentine?"

He shook his head and she sighed. "It's not completely dangerous like Napthol is but that doesn't mean you should go and touch it. It could give you burns if you have prolonged contact." His eyes widened comically.

"That's what the gloves are for." Eve picked them up and threw them at him. She rolled her eyes as she turned to the twin curtains. "Alrighty then, let's do this. Eve reached out and threw the curtains open. Immediately, the screaming began.

"Filthy Mudblood! Staining the noble house of black with your vile presence! Blood Traitors and Mudbloods alike—"

"Not that this isn't entertaining but _Silencio_ ," Eve waved her wand at the portrait. She turned to Sirius. "Your mother has some impressive lungs." She continued by dipping the brush into the turpentine. Eve turned to the silently raving portrait and dragged the brush along the bottom of the painting. The three men behind Eve leaned in closely to observe. The paint where the brush had touched had noticeably blurred.

"Not that I don't love having you all breathe down my neck but the effect takes a while." She turned to Sirius again. "Coat generously and be sure to use the gloves." She pointed once more to the bag. "There's a smaller brush in there. I thought it might be, um, cathartic for you." She smirked one more time at the livid woman in the painting before turning to Snape. "I believe we have work, Professor." She then brushed past him and proceeded him up the stairs to the lab.

When they had both entered and the door was shut she looked at him. "I must say it's nice to actually be able to see you face to face for once. Is it going to be like this until I can come to Hogwarts?"

Snape sneered at her. "Despite what you seem to think I am busy. There is much that I must see to and you seemed capable enough to handle what I have given to you," he looked even further down his nose at her. "Maybe I had misjudged."

"No need to be snide, Professor, I'm merely commenting." She looked at him thoughtfully before continuing. "I believe you said there was work to be done?"

He nodded. "I will assist you with a potion that Albus needs made for his, health."

Eve's brow furrowed. "If it's medicinal then you could've just told me which one. I _am_ capable you know."

"This is a potion that I have developed myself. It is very involved and requires two people to brew correctly." He withdrew his wand and waved it at the chalkboard on the wall. Instantly, the complicated instructions appeared.

"I'd be happy to help," Eve beamed. "I'm glad you thought of me."

"You were the only one with the qualifications that I could think of." He pointed to the board. "I've split it into two different sections. You will be working on the red portion and I will be working on the white portion. They weave together so we will both have to be conscious of time and the other person."

With his abrupt explanation, they began. The first twenty minutes passed by in relative silence. Unable to take the silence, Eve took a breath before speaking.

"I want to apologize, Professor Snape."

Startled, he looked up from his work. "I believed I will need some clarification, Miss Turner."

"I just wanted to apologize if I've offended you. We had such a good conversation and then you didn't come back until necessary. If it was something I said or did to upset you I'm very sorry." She paused at a crucial point and they both weaved around each other and the cauldron as they worked. "I also know that me being here doing your job must be difficult for you. You're the best potioneer I've had the honor of meeting and I can imagine that it's quiet irritating for you to have to—"

"I must interrupt your monologue, Miss Turner. I assure you I have been busy, as a stated earlier, you did not offend me." They completed the last few steps and set the cauldron to simmer for the allotted time. "You are right, however. It is frustrating that I am not able to complete such a simple part of my job. And in the beginning I resented you for it, even though it was not your fault. I still am resentful, but it is my nature as you will see. I will make do with what I am given, as I have always done."

Eve contemplated him from the opposite side of the work table. "I understand that. I would be too in your position. I just want you to know that I have no harsh feelings towards you and I'd like to possibly maybe be friends in time?"

Snape shifted and cleared his throat, clearly uncomfortable. "We shall see." He looked away from Eve.

"I won't push. But I'll crack your icy shell yet, you just wait and see." She grinned at him. "And please call me Eve."

He brought his dark gaze back to her once more. "Again, we shall see." The moment was broken by Eve's timer going off. They began to bottle and clean in silence, both parties pensive. Muffled steps in the hallway announced someone else's presence.

Charlie Weasley's head appeared in the door after a brief knock. "Mum's got dinner ready before the order meeting."

"Thanks Charlie, we were just finishing," Eve smiled.

The trio made their way down the stairs and to the kitchen where the Weasley clan plus Hermione and Harry, and most of the Order were already feasting. Molly fussed over the pair as they sat. Conversations flourished and only one person was not participating in some sort of discussion. Dinner was quickly over and the teenagers reluctantly made their way out of the kitchen so the Order meeting could begin. Eve observed that Dumbledore was nowhere to be found.

"Alright everyone, thanks for coming. Unfortunately, Dumbledore was not able to be here tonight so I'll be moderating," Arthur Weasley announced as he stood at the head of the table. "Might as well settle in, we've got a strategy session tonight." Various groans were heard around the table.

Kingsley leaned back in his chair and rubbed his stomach. "As long as we have tea, all will be right with the world." There were a few smiles.

"Now to business. As we are all aware, we are so far severely outnumbered by you-know-who's death eaters. We have sent emissaries to multiple parties to no avail. We have, however had somewhat of a breakthrough with a group of French wizards and witches. The drawback is that they want something that we don't currently possess—"

"An' we aren't bloody likely to get it any time soon are we?" Mundungus mumbled.

Several different voices broke out at this interruption.

"Please do shut-up—"

"-Bloody impossible-"

"—Nothing to do with 'constant vigilance—' "

"Everyone please be quiet!" Arthur shouted. Eventually the noise settled down. "Thank-you. Now, we know what they want. There are several important documents that belong to this group and they want them in exchange for helping us. Previously, we had no idea where to find them, but they have been located. Professor Snape, if you would please give the information you've obtained." Arthur sat down as Snape stood up from his seat at the middle of the table.

"The documents needed, I have discovered, are located at a death eater's residence. Throfinn Rowle is currently in possession of them. His house will not be easy to get into and there will most likely be several other death eaters stationed there with him as he is, incompetent, at best and the documents are obviously of importance. Rowle Manor is, however, greatly isolated, so there will not be a lot of traffic around it."

"I say we strike immediately." Sirius cut in. "Hit them swiftly and take what we need before they move it."

Snape's face took on its infamous sneer. "That would be unwise, Black as you have not heard the rest of my information."

"It's not necessary to hear you drone on about it—"

"I do not drone and it is necessary—"

"Yes we all know you love to hear yourself speak, don't you, Snivellus?"

Eve massaged her temples as the argument grew fierce. Irritated beyond all belief when no one attempted to stop the pair as wands were drawn Eve snapped, slamming her fist on the table.

"ENOUGH!"

The entire table, shocked, looked at Eve. Fuming she stood up. "It's absolutely ridiculous that two grown men are about to draw wands at each other over a stupid argument."

"You're right, Eve, it's ridiculous that he doesn't see—" Sirius interrupted once more.

"I don't want to hear anymore of your malarkey Sirius Black!" She pointed at the brown haired man. "You interrupted someone giving crucial information to run your mouth and name call. Shut that hole in your face and sit down." He still stood, staring at her in disbelief. "NOW!" He quickly took his seat once more.

Snape had a smug look on his face as he stared Sirius down.

"Wipe that smug look off your face." He looked sharply at Eve. "You need to learn how to be the bigger person." She turned to address the rest of the table. "Everyone at this table should be ashamed of themselves. There's a war going on out there if you've all forgotten. People are being killed and you're all in here fighting amongst yourselves. People are depending on us to be unified and we're not going to accomplish anything properly if we can't even talk to everyone at this table with dignity, civility, and respect. We're going to be employing Thumper's rule from here on out: If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Got it?" Everyone quickly nodded. "Good." She turned to Snape. "Please finish what you've prepared for us."

He briefly outlined the defenses and wards the manor was protected by. Snape produced a magical blue print of the manor and put it on the table for everyone to see. "The only way in and out of the Manor is through the front door. There are no floo networks and apparating is impossible," he concluded.

Arthur nodded. "Does anyone have suggestions? Eve will be the Order member working this particular mission. It's best that we take advantage of her unknown identity while we can."

Sirius spoke up once more. "I still say we go in full force. They won't be expecting it and we'll have the advantage of numbers as well. Right, Eve?" Everyone looked at her.

"If we just barge in we might as well paint signs to wear on our backs beforehand that say hit me with your best shot in neon paint. Professor Snape just said that the number of people there varies and still only one way in and out." She leaned over the blue print and considered it for a moment more. "How many of you work at the ministry?" A few hands were raised. "Are there ever any raids or inspections done on suspicious activities or persons?"

"There've been a fair bit of death eater houses searched under suspicions and anonymous tips." Moody spoke. "We could conduct a raid and flood the house with aurors who are affiliated with or are Order members."

Arthur shook his head. "That would raise alarms and Eve wouldn't remain unknown anymore." He looked at Eve. "I work in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Department. Rowle is known for his inclination to tamper with muggle objects. I conduct routine inspections on those who have been offenders in the past. If I create a distraction, could you sneak around and locate what we need?"

"And how is she getting in?" Snape drawled. "There is but one entrance and exit and it will surely be noted that there is an unknown American witch accompanying you. Rowle is also inclined to be perverse towards women."

More discussion broke out about how it should be done. It went on for five more minutes before a small brown barn owl with a white face flew around the room and settled in the middle of the table. It stayed there for a seconds before going towards Eve's suddenly empty chair and landing. Immediately, Eve reappeared, wearing a bemused expression. She turned to Snape. "Is there an owlry located at the top of the Manor?"

He nodded.

"Then when I see that Arthur has entered the house, I'll go in through the owlry and search from there. If all goes well, they won't even know that I've been in." She turned to Arthur. "You'll hear me hoot twice to let you know that I've completed my search and that yours is no longer necessary." She addressed the table again. "Everyone good?" There were various nods and exclamations of approval. "Good."

Arthur clapped his hands and stood once more. "That's about it everyone. You'll receive a message from Dumbledore about the next meeting."

Everyone got up and were making their farewell rounds. Only Eve observed the dark professor slip out of the room. She walked over to Arthur. "Where's Snape going so fast?"

"Got a death eater meeting I reckon." Moody answered instead. "His master has been summoning him. Looked like he was in a fair amount of pain."

"He normally comes back here for the evening after to recuperate. It's easier than trying to get back into Hogwarts."

Eve looked at all of the people exiting the kitchen to go back to their homes. "So who's waiting for him?"

The two men exchanged glances and Moody walked out while Arthur explained. "No one waits up for him, Eve. He has a habit of being particularly nasty when he gets back from the meetings."

Eve snorted. "Well I wonder why." She sighed and conjured a cup of coffee as she sat back down at the table. Arthur looked down at her, confused. "I'm going to wait up for him. I don't care if he'll be mean, he deserves to have someone to look after him."

Arthur smiled grimly at the woman. "You're about the only one who thinks that way, Eve, Snape included. I hope you'll be able to get through to him a bit. He's had a hard life." He patted her on the shoulder and bid her goodnight, leaving her alone in the now semi dark kitchen.

The fire in the fireplace started to burn low and the candles overhead began to wane as the hours progressed. Eve contented herself by reading for a while, but sometime after midnight she fell asleep, face on her book. The door opening and a figure running into a chair woke her. She rubbed her eyes and then observed the sad state that the proud potions professor was in. His robes and hair were disheveled. His sallow skin was paler than usual and upon closer inspection, Eve noted that he was trembling uncontrollably.

His attention was drawn to her as she stood up to help him into a chair.

"For godsakes woman, leave me alone! Didn't the others tell you, I don't want help!" He mustered as much venom into his voice as he could, but the effect fell short as the best he could do was rasp at her.

Eve gently shushed him as she propped him up in a chair. "I realize you might not want help but there's no harm in me taking a look at what's wrong—"

"There is nothing you can do for me, insufferable lout. There is no help for the Cruciatus Curse," he ground out between tremors.

She nodded, turned to retrieve the mug that have been waiting on hearth. "If you won't accept my help then at least have some hot cocoa. The chocolate will help to calm your nerves." He started to protest but she levelled him with a glare. "Don't argue with me Severus Snape, drink the damn cocoa." What he didn't know was that this was a special cocoa.

With a sigh and a sulking attitude, he took a sip. They sat in silence for a few minutes as he drank more until he seemed to think of something. Looking intently at Eve he asked, "Why did you agree with me this evening?" She looked confused. "At the meeting, you took my side and even chastised your friend. Why?"

"He was wrong and you were right. It was a foolish suggestion and I would have done the same if you had acted the same way he had. That being said I think it's stupid the way that people treat you. You do so much for this organization and it's almost like people hate you for it."

He looked intently at her once more before letting out a yawn. "Yes well, my past is somewhat dark." Another yawn. "People can't seem, can't seem," Yawn. "To let it go." He laid his head down on the table and within 5 seconds he was in a deep sleep. Eve stood and walked over to the sleeping man. She looked down at him with a sad smile on her face. Sighing once more, she vanished the mug and levitated the sleeping man up the stairs and to a spare room he could sleep in. Eve herself slept fitfully, dreaming of dark mansions and enchanted muggle toys dancing to Hit Me with Your Best Shot.

Waking early, Eve ventured down to the kitchen to help Mrs. Weasley prepare breakfast for the horde. The two women talked and laughed as they shared cooking mishaps. As Eve was plating some food the kitchen door slammed open and a furious Severus Snape stormed into the room. His eyes were dangerous as he approached Eve and all but loomed over her in anger.

"I know you did something to me last night. You will tell me what you did before I painfully pull it from your brain myself," He hissed down at her.

AN:

Hey guys! So here's an update…finally! I want to start off by thanking anyone who has read, followed, favorited and reviewed. I seriously was never expecting any kind of response to this story at all so it's been really cool to see. I also want to apologize for taking so long. Unfortuantely, life happened as it always does. I started this story right before I moved across the country. (As in from one coast to the other.) I've been busy with settling in and finding a job but both of those things have happened and I can focus a bit more on this now. This story has been bugging me because I keep thinking about it and where I want it to go so I'm definitely motivated to get it done. I had noticed in one of the first chapters I had made an error and revealed information but somehow forgot I had and wrote like I hadn't in the next chapter. I fixed that so it shouldn't be as confusing anymore. Also, Happy Thanksgiving! And if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you have a great week and I'll eat a big piece of pie for you ;) Please let me know what you think. ~J


	6. Chapter 4: Back in Black

Chapter 4: Back in Black

"I know you did something to me last night. You will tell me what you did before I painfully pull it from your brain myself," He hissed down at her.

Eve continued to place the finished bacon onto a plate as she spoke, "Good morning, Professor Snape. I trust you slept well?" She turned around to get another plate for toast.

Snape grasped her arm and roughly turned her so that she was facing him.

"You drugged me, you insolent little—" he started to snarl at her.

Eve smiled pleasantly up at him as she wrenched her arm out of his hold. She turned back towards the stove.

"I am trying to have a conversation with you and you will look me in the eyes!" Snape yelled.

Eve turned around, this time by herself and carrying a plate. Still silent, she walked over to the table and put the full plate down where Snape usually sat when he no choice but to eat at headquarters. After she had done this she finally looked at him.

"You must be hungry. Come sit and eat, being tortured takes a lot out of a person." Her brow furrowed as she muttered, "I didn't expect you'd be up so early, though."

"And I didn't expect to be narcotized!"

"Oh save your snark, ya windbag. Sit your ass down and eat." She held her hand up as he opened his mouth to protest again, "You can come upstairs in the lab and yell at me when you're done stuffing your gob with food."

She swiftly left the kitchen, Molly and Snape looking at the other in dazed disbelief. Slowly, and slightly unsure about why, Snape sat in the indicated chair.

"Merlin, what just happened?" Molly Weasley whispered.

Eve was in the throes of brewing when Snape barreled into the room. Fully prepared to bellow, he paused at the sight of the younger woman deeply concentrating on carefully slicing ingredients for what he recognized as her wolfsbane potion.

Without raising her eyes she said, "I'm just starting if you'd like to observe. I gave you my notes but I haven't demonstrated for you yet." She finished slicing and over the next 2 hours meticulously completed the potion. Silence rung in the room as she bottled the potion and cleaned the work station. Less incensed than before Snape was considering how to broach the subject when Eve spoke.

"Et Nervis Sanabit."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Et Nervis Sanabit. It's the potion I gave you last night."

Snape nodded and considered for a moment. "I specifically told you I did not require or want your help. Why, in Merlin's name, would you give me an unknown potion without my consent?"

"Well, I knew which potion it was." She cringed at Snape's scowl. "Anyways, I knew it would help you! You feel normal, right? No aches, spasms, or anything today?"

Snape's eyes widened marginally as she spoke. "I, feel…fine. There's nothing wrong." He went stone-faced once more and added in an icy tone, "That does not mean I condone you giving me a potion when I specifically told you I didn't want your help." He fixed her with his second most menacing stare, "I don't need anyone's help."

Eve's face grew sad as he spoke. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Professor. But, everyone needs someone in their lives, even just a little bit." She sighed as he remained unmoved. "I know it wasn't good of me to give you that potion without your permission. I want it to be clear, however, that the only thing I'm apologizing for here is not getting consent. I'm not sorry that I waited up for you and I'm not sorry I tried to help you. I don't know what everyone's deal is around here but I don't think it's right how they treat you."

"You know nothing about anything that goes on here, Miss Turner, nothing about the past and I suggest you hold your—"

"No! I'm not going to keep quiet about it!" Snape looked at Eve in wonderment. "The past shouldn't matter about how you're being treated now! You're doing so much for this group and you deserve respect not someone almost dueling you at a meeting because they don't like your suggestion."

Eve's words seemed to have the opposite effect of how she had intended. His mask of indifference slipped over his face once more and he fixed his unreadable eyes on her.

"It is best," he said frigidly, "that you keep your opinions of things you couldn't possibly understand to yourself, Miss Turner. I expect you to keep away from my drinks from now on and I will be contacting you primarily through owl from here forward."

He exited the room, the door snapping shut in his wake. Eve paused for a moment before picking up a composition notebook and running down the stairs after him.

"Wait, Professor Snape, please wait!" She saw him just reach the front door as she rounded the corner. "I know you can hear me so just give me one moment, please!"

He paused, but didn't turn around.

"I know you don't want to hear anything from me so all I ask is that you just read this." She shoved the notebook in front of his face, forcing him to take. "I'll let you go now since my presence offends you that much."

Eve made it to the second landing before she heard the door close. It felt final, somehow, to her that she would only see him when he wished to see her. Considering how much she had screwed up, she didn't think that was going to be very often.

"Are you alright, Eve?"

"Ahh!" Eve jumped, elbowing Mr. Weasley in the process. "Arthur! You scared me!" She turned and noticed that he was hunched over. "Are you alright?"

"Just a mo'." He straightened out after seemingly recovering his breath. "You've got a good swing."

Eve blushed. "I was off in my own world not paying attention. I have a bad reaction to being scared."

Mr. Weasley chuckled, "I'd say you do." They both laughed together. Mr. Weasley sobered before clearing his throat. "I was coming to find you so we could start strategizing for the break-in next week. Are you up for a storming of the brain session, as the muggles say?"

Eve giggled, "It's brainstorming, but I would love to! Lead the way."

The two discussed muggle idioms as they walked to the library and settled in for a long evening of planning.

The next week passed by in a flurry of activity. Eve and Arthur are busy finalizing plans and making sure that all of the moving parts are in order. In the midst of all of the planning Eve carries on with her potions duties. She is sad to find that Snape has kept his word and only owls her when he needs new stock for something. But her spirits are lifted by the people around her. Fred and George could always be counted on to brighten up a humorless situation. Mrs. Weasley was there to provide a motherly touch. Tonks was Tonks and always knew what to do or say to make Eve smile. The girls had a wonderful time reminiscing and catching up on what they missed out on in the other's life.

Throughout the week Eve went on reconnoissance missions. She followed Rowle around to any place he went but he was fairly stationary, hiding out at the Manor. She was able to observe that the schedule of him coming or going was regular and he hardly ever deviated from normalcy. Finally, the evening the order had been waiting on arrived.

Grimmauld Place held a select few order members on the evening of the 3rd of August. There was a certain somberness that lurked in the house causing the usual banter of the higher ranking members to be silent. The meeting was uncharacteristically early, taking place at twilight, as Arthur had arranged with the ministry.

"Now my dear Eve," Dumbledore began, "Arthur will be there 3 minutes before you are, so you may fly in the upper window undetected. Severus has ensured that the owlery is indeed open so you will have no trouble getting in. The trouble begins when you enter. I know you are a capable auror, so I will not bore you with precautions." He winked at the young witch.

Eve gave a half nod, however her attentions were on the brooding potions professor to his side. Since entering headquarters, Eve noticed Snape gave her a wide berth. Where before he would nod or at least make eye contact at these meetings, he showed no indication that Eve even existed. He had even passed right by her when she had tried to approach the wizard about the journal he had sent back almost immediately after she had given it to him. He didn't even breath in her direction, just swept past in his dramatic black robes. Eve was disappointed he was still sticking with his vow of no contact.

Eve stood, picking up a small backpack, and said, "Well, I guess there's no use wasting time then. Arthur and I will come back together after meeting up at our check point."

She gave one last look around the table, lingering on the the dark haired professor, before sighing and apparating to the edge of Rowle Manors' wards. Silently, the American witch morphed until all that was left was a little barn owl. Eve, in owl form, made her way towards the manor. She arrived just in time to see a shock of red hair enter the front and only door. She circled up to the top of the manor and quickly found a small window where the real owls could fly in. Landing, she made sure there were no unexpected persons, excluding herself. When the coast was clear, Eve changed back into her human form and quickly put a silencing spell on the 4 owls so they wouldn't make noise.

Eve poked her head out from the owlery door, looking side to side for an indication of where to go. After searching the top floor she quietly made her way down to the next. Hearing voices coming up the opposite staircase, Eve dashed through a door and closed it in time. Turning around she found herself in a small library with a large desk by a floor to ceiling window.

"The papers have to be somewhere in here," she thought to herself as she tiptoed to the desk.

Eve shuffled through scroll after scroll with no luck. Moving from the desk, she scanned the bookcases for any clues. A bright red book with no title caught her eye as she moved from one case to the next. Intrigued, she walked over and pulled only to have the entire row of books move out and drop forward. Inside were scrolls written in French.

"Bingo!" Eve did a little dance as she hurriedly grabbed the parchment and put it in her satchel. Excited, she forgot to check the door before leaving and ran straight into a solid body.

Stumbling back, she looked up to see the surprised face of Antonin Dolohov. Before he recovered Eve acted fast.

"Stupefy!" Eve whisper-yelled.

Down he went and before Eve could catch him, he knocked over a table with many decorations. The knick knacks fell and broke on the marble floor, echoing loudly throughout the Manor.

"Wots that I 'eard?" a male voice asked.

"Nothing I'm sure. Are you quite sure you're not trying to pull something over on me?" Eve heard Arthur's voice enquire.

"Are you quite sure you aren't trying to pull something over on us?" A superior sounding woman's voice sounded. Eve froze as she heard the voices come up behind her.

Turning, Eve came face to face with a woman with dark wavy locks. Her eyes were sunken and haunted, her face gaunt. Eve recognized her instantly. Bellatrix Lestrange.

The dark witch smirked. "And who might we have here?" she inquired slowly.

Instantly, Eve flashed a jinx at Bellatrix and grabbed Arthur to start running. Suddenly, Rowle appeared from the opposite staircase and began firing curses at Eve and Arthur. Bellatrix had easily blocked Eve's spell and was advancing on Eve and Arthur from the other side. Standing back to back, the duo fought back against their respective opponents.

"We need to get out!" Eve exclaimed as she deflected a dark curse.

As quietly as the moment allowed Arthur retorted, "On my go, I'll grab your hand and we'll make a break for the front door."

The four continued to fight, spells flying fast from both sides. At last Arthur grabbed Eve's hand and yelled, "NOW!"

Immediately there was a flash and an impossibly black cloud rapidly rose from the ground. Eve ran as fast as she could, Arthur guiding her through the cloud. As they descended the stairs to the foyer, the black cloud disintegrated allowing the pair to see clearly once more.

"Just round this corner," Arthur panted, "just round this corner and we'll be at the door.

Right as they turned the corner, a purple light collided with Arthur's right side. It sliced through his shirt and skin, blood gushing from the wound. Eve drug him back to cover and peeked around the corner only to see Bellatrix and Rowle blocking the door. Bellatrix was grinning madly at the wound she had managed to make.

"Nowhere to run, little girl," sing-songed the mad witch.

Again a duel ensued, only this time Eve was fighting both Death Eaters. Eve narrowly dodged a green beam but she didn't manage to avoid the same spell used to incapacitate Arthur. Her arm split open and her wand dropped to the floor, rolling a few feet away. She quickly took cover just around the corner with a grunt. Two sets of footsteps sounded on the floor as Eve tried to rouse Arthur.

"Arthur! Arthur!" She cried. "Please wake up now. Ennervate!"

Arthur's eyes flew open when the spell hit him.

Eve hoisted him to his feet. "We need to get out now. I have a plan so just stick close to me," she whispered to him.

"Come out little missy, we want to have a chat," Bellatrix cackled.

Eve made sure Arthur's arm was secured across her shoulders before maneuvering around the corner, into the open. She squared her shoulders as she stared the three death eaters down, silently casting a shield spell.

"As much as I'd love to chat, Bellatrix, I think my friend and I should be going."

As soon as the words left her mouth, Eve non-verbally cast her patronus to distract the villans. An enormous silver dragon burst from her palm, filling the foyer and momentarily blinding anyone who looked at it. Taking the moment when eyes were off of her, she threw her arm out, an invisible burst of energy radiated outwards, knocking over the three death eaters and causing the dragon to disappear. Immediately, the wards dropped and both Eve and Arthur felt the restriction of not being able to apparate leave them. They both felt free once more.

Eve held her hand out once more, her wand flying into her hand. She looked up and smirked at Bellatrix before the crack of their disapparation split the silence that had fallen. Bellatrix's scream of anger was heard by both as the solid floor of Grimmauld's kitchen met their feet.

Arthur instantly sagged, almost dropping to the ground. His adrenaline had finally worn off.

"Clear the table!" Eve yelled. With the help of Bill and Charlie, they lifted him up and placed him on the kitchen table. Arthur's face was pale, much of his blood had been lost.

"Merlin's beard, Eve, what happened?" Exclaimed Molly.

"There's no time to explain now, Molly," Eve said. She silently summoned some potions to her hand. She rushed to Arthur on the table and began tearing his shirt around the wound. There was a deep laceration, reaching from his back to his navel. Having been jostled in the apparation, it had begun to bleed heavily once more. Closing her eyes, Eve began to hover her wand over the cut, silently mouthing the words to various healing spells.

Eve looked up at Snape. "You'll need to give him the purple potion first. He's not awake so you'll have to tip it down his throat. Blue is next followed by orange. His laceration needs to be disinfected otherwise there could be serious complications." Her words became quieter as she spoke and her face that had been alive with all the excitement was paling.

"I think, Miss Turner, we had best see to your injury as well," Snape intoned. He had noticed the witch was beginning to fade.

"No I'm fine, it's my fault," she began. "I have to make it, make it right-"

As soon as she had spoken, her eyes rolled back in her head and darkness over took her.

Eve woke underneath covers, staring up at her bedroom ceiling. She blinked twice and started to sit up, wincing at the pain coming from her shoulder. She jumped, startled at a disapproving sound. Sitting beside her bed, the dark professor sat in a chair reading the notebook she had given to him before he had stormed out weeks before.

"It's not a serious wound, however, you would be wise to not overwork that arm until it can be fully healed," Snape drawled before looking up at her.

Eve carefully adjusted into a comfortable sitting position.

"Is Arthur ok? He hasn't—" she paused her question, staring down at the duvet.

Snape pursed his lips, considering her questions before replying.

"Mr. Weasley is receiving well, the potions you recommended before fainting from shock have done their job. He is, by all means, still unfit to get out of bed, however, he has much improved." He studied her profile, his dark eyes drinking in her sad expression.

"It's my fault he got hurt, I messed up—"

"From what he has said, you were the only reason the two of you made it out alive," Snape interrupted.

"Yes but,"

"You will cease with your dramatics, his memory was shown to us all in Dumbledore's pensive and the situation was made clear." He paused, prompting Eve to look up at him. "Dumbledore would like to see your memory as well." He held out a vial.

Sighing, Eve drew her wand and pressed it to her temple. Silvery strands pulled through and floated into the vial. She put her hand inside her jacket and withdrew a scroll.

"The papers we were looking for," she handed them to the silent man.

Snape nodded and got up, making his way to the door. Hand on the doorknob, he turned to face the sullen witch and gestured to the notebook left on the chair.

"That is a remarkable bit of potions work, Miss Turner. I do not say it often, nevertheless, I am impressed."

Eve dragged her eyes from the duvet to him once more.

"However, I will never condone being medicated against my will. I thank-you for the help you seemingly want to give to me, but it is uncommon for me to have anyone offer help. I do not like accepting charity from others."

"It's not charity, that's what friends are supposed to do for each other." Snape gave her an odd look. "I know you don't consider me a friend after that and I really did overstep, which I am very sorry for. I just wanted to help. I just don't like how you're treated! I see the way people treat you here and I can't imagine how lonely it must be. You're risking everything and they couldn't give a damn."

Snape looked extremely uncomfortable as he shifted from foot to foot.

"I ask that you keep to your own business, Miss Turner. Things are the way they must be."

"It's Eve."

He raised a brow.

"My name is Eve."

The professor studied her face once more before nodding.

"Try to get some rest then, Eve."

His cloak swirled around him as he turned the knob and disappeared through the door.

A/N: Here it is! Chapter 4! It's been a while, aka a year, but I got it done. I now work for a cruise line so most of the time when I'm on the ship I'm extremely busy and I have access only to social media when I get internet. And when I do get internet it sucks major balls. But it's up now, let me know what you think!

Jemmenuie: Thank-you so much for the feedback! It's been really good to read your thoughts. I have a few answers to some of your question/comments. First up: Skinny Jeans. Skinny jeans have been fairly popular since the eighties, they've just manifested themselves in different ways. There's your typical skinny jean that's popular today, acid wash, ripped skinnies, and there's this weird skinny jean for men called the "pack it in jean" that outlines their, er, junk if you will. Those are just a few types and there are quite a few more. I googled this because I legit forgot about the time thing for a second but google came through. So Harry's sixth year would've taken place in 1996 because in the second book Harry, Ron, and Hermione all go to nearly headless Nick's 500th death day party, on October 31, 1992. Harry was 12 so 4 years later, etc. So there were skinny jeans in the 90's but they definitely aren't the cute high-waisted things we call skinny jeans today. They were mostly marbled acid wash and the only skinny places were the waist and the ankles. They would have looked something like that. (I'm only slightly embarrassed that I spent an hour and a half researching jeans.)

I will definitely take the space between text and A/N notes comment to heart. I had been putting a lot of space but I copy and paste my story so I'll be sure to re-do that part. Also, I typically write best late at night and I can get a little delirious so I'll be sure to triple check grammar.

I put Eve in muggle clothes because she grew up that way and old habits die hard. Also, I don't specifically remember but I think Harry and Hermione probably wore muggle clothes too (in the books) just because they grew up in the muggle world. I don't really remember though.

House Elf treatment: So this is one of the liberties I've taken. I started writing this story right before the pottermore website put up their info on American wizarding society so I'm just going to continue with my stuff because it would be exhausting to have to rehash my plotline. I imagine that Hermione doesn't know because the majority of the society is bigoted towards house elves, including people who've grown up magical and are on the good side. Why would you write articles and promote a change that happened in America if most wizards and witches believe that they like being enslaved? And research would be harder because everything is old fashioned and there is no wizarding world wide web. Just a thought.

This is definitely an AU where Sirius is alive. My heart was ripped from my chest in the 5th book when he died. Plus he's a fun character, so easy comic relief.

In regards to "why is she there", the first answer is that she is a skilled potions mistress and Auror. The second answer is that all shall reveal itself in due time.

Lastly, might it have been a bit rude for Eve to leave before doing work with Snape? Yes. But he was rude by not showing up until necessary (in Eve's mind. Or is it mine because I made her up?). In conclusion, Eve is a boss ass bitch and does what she pleases.

Hope you all enjoyed! ~J


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